The Cost of Victory
by Minesniper
Summary: When Beacon is under attack, Vale is being overrun, and the culprits draw ever-closer to discovering Amber; Professor Ozpin makes a split-second decision that could save the school, city, and maybe Remnant itself. What he needs, is the power of a maiden at his side. If only it didn't come at such a price... [ONESHOT] Uploaded in celebration of my account's 1 year anniversary!


**So I had this idea when I was first watching RWBY Volume 3 Chapter 11, Heroes and Monsters. When Ozpin says "I'm... so sorry." For a second this idea flashed in my mind, and though it wasn't what was going to happen, I wanted to write this since then. Happy anniversary to my channel!**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

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[ONESHOT]

The elevator doors opened, revealing a dark, cavernous hall lit only by green flames in black braziers along the wall. Ozpin and his two students ran forward, shoes smacking against the tile floor.

"What is this place?" Jaune Arc asked from behind him. Ozpin felt bad for the members of Team JNPR, they didn't deserve to be brought into this conflict, but they were forced to. No matter how much training they had received, no matter how skilled they were, no child should have to face the horrors this day had unleashed.

"It's… a type of vault." His partner replied, uncomfortable with the situation. She had kept a secret from her team, and now it would have an unknown effect, not only on her, but on everyone around her. Pyrrha was worried, rightfully so; and to make matters worse, the boy she obviously had affections for was going to watch as she did something that could have serious consequences.

"You've… been here before?" Now the girl fell silent, turning her head away and continuing to run. In contrast, the knight slowed to a stop as he caught sight of the vault's inhabitant. "What would this school need to… hide…."

Ozpin ran up to the glowing blue terminal on the empty pod and began typing the code to activate it. "What? Who…." The headmaster heard the champion try to offer some kind of explanation, but there was no time to waste.

"Pyrrha, get to the pods." A moment of hesitation passed before the redhead nodded dutifully and jogged over to the machine. "Mr. Arc, if you would like to help, you can stand guard here." Turning back to the computer, Ozpin could only assume the student complied, as he gave no verbal response.

Again, Pyrrha spoke up, "what do we do now?" The professor sighed. " _We…_ do nothing." Finishing the sequence of typing, the pod opened with a hiss.

Turning back to see the girl's confused face, Ozpin continued. " _You_ , Ms. Nikos, have a choice to make." After a quick look at Jaune, the Amazon wiped a tear from her eye, and stepped into the pod. Laying her head back, the poor girl looked around anxiously as the door closed, sealing her inside.

As he typed in the final lines, the vault rumbled, earth shaking from an explosion somewhere above. "Are you ready?" The old man asked Pyrrha. Though she silently nodded her head, Ozpin couldn't do it. "I… I need to hear you say it." Closing her eyes, the girl replied with a simple "yes."

Then a thought occurred to the old man. An idea that changed everything. Even if he placed the powers of the fall maiden into Pyrrha, it could all be for nothing. She has no experience with the powers, and would be outclassed by whoever took Amber's power. That woman had time to train, prepare, _learn_.

Originally transferring Pyrrha these abilities would give them a way to move the maiden's powers to a safe place; but given their dire situation, that was no longer enough. Beacon was falling, Vale was under attack- Ozpin _needed_ a maiden, and he needed one now. Not a half-maiden, not an empowered student, he needed a true maiden.

With a few extra keys typed, Ozpin made a split-second decision; one he could only hope would save them all. If he could revitalize Amber, give her a second chance, the maiden could use her power to save Vale. With him and the maiden fighting side-by-side, even the most skilled opponents would fall- with all of their enemies showing their true colors for this attack, this could be the opportunity to eliminate every threat simultaneously.

Pressing a key to begin the process, Ozpin watch as brilliant red light followed the cables from Pyrrha's pod to Amber's, the comatose girl now waking up. Pyrrha's cries of pain hurt Ozpin more than he had expected, but he had to remain calm.

"Pyrrha!" When the young Arc turned to see what was happening to his friend, Ozpin yelled, "no, keep watch! If the process is interrupted now, we will lose everything!" Though somewhat dismayed, the boy followed his orders and faced the elevator doors at the end of the hall once again.

Looking between the two girls in the machine, the old man felt awful, but it was for the good of every man, woman, and child in the city. "I'm… so sorry…."

"Professor, someone's here!" Spinning around, Ozpin noticed the bow held in the intruder's hand in time to create a crackling field of green energy between them and her. An arrow was fired, but it fizzled and disappeared upon contact with the shield. "Thank you, Jaune."

Noticing that the red aura had ceased to flow from Pyrrha's pod, Ozpin took a deep breath to collect himself. Turning to Jaune, he said, "you should go now, Mr. Arc. I will finish up here, but you will not be much help against a foe of her caliber."

"What about Pyrrha?" Ozpin winced at this, the remorse for his decision already consuming him. "Please, do as I ask, Jaune. Your job here is done, and I will explain everything after." Accepting the headmaster's dismissal, though unhappy about it, Jaune ran past the fiery woman and toward the elevator.

She let him pass, there was a bigger threat present right now. "This whole time, right beneath our feet. She was right about you… such arrogance."

Ozpin did not reply. He had no time for talking, he could not afford to stall. So much had been sacrificed already, and every second he took to restore the maiden's power was a moment that could have been spent saving lives.

Immediately launching his attack, Ozpin surged forth with his cane at the ready. Cinder unleashed a flurry of slashes at the headmaster, but he blocked each one effortlessly, his outline blurring with speed. The woman unleashed a fiery explosion, but it was absorbed by a green shield and did little to stop the assault by the aging hunter. A ball of fire flew toward him but he dodged it too.

In a desperate attempt to gain an edge, the false maiden charged at Ozpin. Feinting with one sword, Cinder leapt over the huntsman and readied her bow. An arrow was aligned for Amber's chest again, but once more a green barrier absorbed her projectile.

With only half of the maiden's powers, the witch realized all too late that she was no match for Ozpin. A powerful hit to the leg knocked her to the ground, a barrage of strikes severely depleted her aura, and an arc of green lightning struck her while she was down to finish it off.

Crawling away from the superior fighter, Cinder made another attempt to stand, but was quickly clubbed once more with the cane. "Not an effective means of killing someone," Ozpin said, "but I never intended to when I made it. I still wish that it was something I would never have to do." Looking down at the beaten woman, the headmaster sighed in sadness. "For what it's worth, I truly am sorry. I do not know what drove you to join forces with Salem, but I hope you find it in whatever awaits you."

With that, the man cast a final bolt of power at her, and ended Cinder's threat once and for all. From the ashes her body had become, the orange power of the Fall Maiden sought out its other half. It shattered the glass and broke the seal of Amber's pod as it disappeared into her.

As Ozpin watched, the scars on her face faded, and the woman climbed up out of the machine. "Oz? What happened? Where am I?" The headmaster smiled at the bittersweet situation. Amber was fine, but it had come at such a cost.

"I will explain later, right now, we have a battle to win. I hope your skills are as sharp as when we last met." Looking behind her, the professor caught sight of the other pod. Within lied the lifeless corpse of Pyrrha Nikos. Eyes shut, peacefully resting against the back wall. A wave of shame washed over Ozpin, guilt hanging heavily on his conscience. "Once we're done, I have a lot to attend to."

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" _While the attack on Vale was thwarted by the actions of the Atlesian military and the students and staff of various hunter academies, many people still held reservations about the situation Vale has found itself in. Public safety correspondent Daisy Morgan attended a press conference with general James Ironwood who had this to say."_

 _The image cut to the Atlesian general standing behind a podium in full uniform. "While the damage done to the city was extensive, the people of Vale and cities across Remnant can rest easy knowing that they are safe from the perpetrators. The mastermind behind this, Cinder Fall, was killed during her attack, and her accomplices Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai were captured and are awaiting trial. Notorious terrorist Adam Taurus was also arrested, and the last pockets of the White Fang were caught or died during their attack. Infamous criminal Roman Torchwick fell victim to the very Grimm they attracted, and while his partner 'Neopolitan' is still at large, all of my soldiers are on high alert searching for her."_

" _General, what about the concern over the rogue AK units?"_

" _I have already given the order to commence the shut-down of all Atlesian Knights until we can both determine how they were infected by the virus, and how to prevent that from ever occurring again. The automated Atlesian Paladin unit program has been discontinued, and we've decided only to make use of the human piloted version."_

 _Looking into the camera now, the general spoke with a sense of finality in his voice. "What happened is a tragedy, there is no doubt about it, but we still came out on top. We persevered in these dark times, and once again proved that humanity can overcome all odds when it is united. Vale will rebuild, and as compensation for the damages caused by our robotic divisions, Atlas has promised to pay half of the price to reconstruct what was lost."_

 _The camera cut back to Lisa Lavender, and she began reading off more news. "Last night, the Schnee Dust Company pledged more than 17 million lien to the Vale Relief Fund. With such support from the other kingdoms, predictions are that the city will be rebuilt within a year. A memorial service for the fallen is being hosted by general Ironwood this Saturday where a monument to those who lost their lives in the attack will be unveiled. I'm Lisa Lavender with the six o'clock news."_

Professor Ozpin turned off the screen as the student he had invited to his office shuffled in through the elevator door. "Are you sure about your decision, Mr. Arc? You can still retract your-"

"I'm sure." He answered, not looking his now former headmaster in the eyes. Ozpin sighed.

"Jaune, what happened was not your fault. I made the decision, not you. I am the only one to blame here, but-"

"You're damn right you are!" He snarled. Now that he looked up at Ozpin, the old man could see the pain behind his eyes, reddened from crying. "You tricked her, you convinced her to get in that machine and you killed her! She talked with me before the attack, asked me for advice. From what she said there, and how she acted down in that vault, it's pretty obvious she hadn't expected to be sacrificed for some other woman's health! You _murdered_ my partner, _my friend_!"

Stepping away from the headmaster, Jaune began to head toward the elevator door. "I'm not leaving because I feel guilty. I'm leaving because I can't attend a school where the headmaster will sacrifice their students just to achieve their own goal!"

The elevator chimed as the doors slid open. "Jaune," the man called out, causing the blonde to pause for a moment, "there is a memorial service here at the school for the students who did not survive, and Pyrrha has a special section dedicated to her. I can't change your mind, but at least stay to say goodbye to her. I owe her that much, to make sure the one she cared about most saw her off."

Without a word, the former student entered the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor, Ozpin could only hope he would make it to the ceremony.

Again, the door slid open, and Amber strode in. "Ozpin." She said quietly. Once she had learned what had transpired to bring her back, she'd been very withdrawn. "Amber." He greeted.

"Are you experiencing any side-effects from… the procedure?" He cringed at his own words, and they seemed to have the same effect on Amber as she shuddered when he spoke.

"I… I feel different. Sometimes I have thoughts that aren't my own, memories of things that never happened to me. Ozpin, I can _feel_ her inside me, sometimes, just beneath the surface… trapped." Looking up at him in distress, she continued. "I know she's in there, and she's alone. She can't communicate with anyone, she can't leave… she's just a passenger. She has no hope of freedom until I die."

Cradling her head in her hands, Amber breathed shakily, on the verge of tears. "I can tell how she feels. She's lonely, despairing, she feels betrayed; but there's nothing I can do to help her!"

Looking out his window, Ozpin took in all of Vale. The construction crews working to repair buildings and the city's infrastructure. Citizens driving and walking around as if nothing had happened. The students of Beacon grouped together outside, mourning fallen team mates and friends, while appreciating how lucky they were.

There was a ray of hope in it. The human spirit once more had proven indomitable, even for Salem. Still, if he had to do it again, Ozpin wasn't sure he could bring himself to. Who knew how different the outcome would have been? But it didn't matter, in the end, Ozpin decided that there was no way he could have won in that situation. He had achieved victory, but it had a heavy cost.

It was just another item to add to this list of mistakes he'd made in his long, long life.

"I'm so sorry."

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 **I don't plan to do many one-shots, so when I do one, I hope it was done well. Let me know in the reviews!**


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